Monday, April 30, 2012

Guest Post by Popular Book Blogger Marjolein Balm

About Reading and YA Books

I am very honored to be the first guest on your blog. Thank you, Stewart!!

Very often I get the question why I love to read and review Young Adult books so much. Maybe it is because I remember my own teenage years so vividly like it was yesterday and I have loved reading ever since I can remember. I was always seen with just one accessory: a book.

I’ve been reading since I was four, there were
always books in the house (although my parents didn’tread that much, but somehow, there were books
around!) and I remember that I learned my first words from a children’s book I
always carried around with me (I still wonder sometimes which book this was, I
still know what it looks like but I can’t remember the title anymore) so I
could read a few words before I entered school. Reading was always widely
promoted when I was in primary school. We always had huge projects around the
Children’s Book Week and my twin brother and I were always allowed to select
two books from the book store when that week came around, we had to do a book
speech about a book every month In front of the entire class and I am still
very thankful that we visited the library almost every week since I can
remember. We also had a huge library at my primary school and before we could
leave to go home, our teacher read to us every day, and we also had to write
about the books we read for the school paper. What I remember reading in my
childhood years were: ballet books (I was also into ballet during that time)
Astrid Lindgren (Lotta, The Children of Noisy Village) and from Dutch book I remember
Madelief en Het Zakmes, which was quite a hype at my school when the film came
out.

During my teen years, I don’t remember there being
books categorized as YA. Remember, we had to read books for English but YA? It
just didn’t exist. Roald Dahl was as popular as Harry Potter and his books are
the only ones that come to mind when I recall reading in my teen years. How times
have changed for the better!! Young Adult is more popular than ever, and is the
fastest growing market in the book industry. Young adult, or YA, has become
popular not merely among tweens and teens, but among adults as well.
Bestsellers like the Harry Potter, Twilight, and Hunger Games series have fallen
into the hands of many adults and have found a welcoming audience. You can walk into any book store, locate the YA section, and
have at your fingertips historicals, paranormals, romances, mysteries, science
fiction, fantasy, contemporary, steam punk, poetry, fairy tales, myths, and
biographies. You name it, it’s there.

Teens want to read books about other teens who
they can identify with and that deal with the same issues they themselves have
to cope with. Young adult novels changed the world
for me. I could never have guessed when picking up a Princess Diaries book (the
first YA book I picked up..) that I would be reviewing YA books two years later.
I just celebrated my 4 year blogaversary recently! So yes, books can really
change your world!

Most ‘’adult readers’’ still think that YA
fiction is set in a high school (think of the Sweet Valley High books) but that
is history as most YA books nowadays are set in the most diverse settings, here
a few recommendations if you never have read YA in your life (something I find
truly hard to imagine). Some are not specifically marked as YA but are more
crossover.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok: moves with her
mother from Hong Kong to the USA, with the help of their aunt, they settle in a
rattled apartment with no heating or windows in Brooklyn. A very impressing
coming-of-age story between the Chinese and American cultures.

Red Glass by Laura Resau:Red Glass is an outstanding and amazing YA novel 'between
cultures''.The book is set in the USA, Mexico and Guatamala. The story is about
Sophie and a little Mexican refugee, Pablo. Because Pablo’s parents have died
during harsh conditions, while trying to illegally cross the Mexican-American
border, Sophie travels with Pablo to Mexico to locate his family and overcomes
her fears.

Shadow of the Dragon by Sherry Garland: A very original YA novel about a Vietnamese-American teen. Danny grows
up amongst gangs and American/ Vietnamese culture. Danny
is dating Tiffany Marie, a girl from his high school, but rumors are that Tiffany's
brother Frank is a skinhead with racist actions against Vietnamese people in
particular, and soon enough these rumors seem to be true, and Danny Sang Le's (Danny’s
cousin who spent years in a Vietnamese re-education camp and who is living with
Danny now) are in danger. The book just
gives an amazing look in the life of the Vietnamese community in the United
States and a peek into Vietnamese family traditions.

Far from Home by Na’ima B Robert: a gripping story about two girls Tariro and Katie living in
Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, both living in different time periods, 1967 and 2001. While
Katie is a rich western girl living on a farm, Tariro and her family have to
fight against white settlers who crash into town. In 2001 the opposite happens
with Katie, people are attacking her family’s farm and claiming their land
back. Without being aware of it, both girls share a horrible secret.

I’d like to end off with a
question: What books have you read recently that really captured the YA voice
and pulled you into the story?

About Me

Hello and welcome to my blog. This blog site is the home of my novels, The Goat Herder (published) and Under Philadelphi Road (first draft completed). I will be discussing themes in the stories and similar topics in comparative literature, posting links to chapters of the books, where possible, and updates of their journey to publication. I invite you to accompany me on this exciting journey. Please feel welcome to leave a message or a comment. I am grateful you have taken the time to stop by.